Mike’s Seafood Grill and Bar, Kingsford

When you pass through the glass door frontage of South Sydney Junior Rugby League Club and take the escalator up one level, you become acquainted with a daytime world which revolves around the turns and tunes of poker machines; a domain with its own rhythm that is unfamiliar to the working crowd. Towards the far end, you find Mike’s Seafood Grill and Bar occupying a sizeable area of the first floor.

I am invited for lunch and although we arrive in the middle of a busy period, the restaurant is nearly empty. We are shown to a window table by the bar, and once we settle into our chairs, it is easy to forget the jingles of the poker machines and the hubbub of daytime bingo games.

The eatery has a contemporary look, a new restaurant feel with smooth lines and white and dark colours. There is a good sized bar with modern trimmings at the back and a fish tank on one wall. The staff are smiling and attentive. They float around carrying out other tasks in between attending to us. The place is unusually quiet and it is difficult to judge an ambience without the buzz of patrons.

We order two glasses of Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough NZ and study the menu. There is a good range of seafood, pastas, salads and grills on offer, as well as specials such as the $8 Angus Rump Steak that change depending on the day of the week.

I opt for a light dish and order the BBQ octopus marinated in lemon, garlic and oregano and served with aioli. The octopus is well-cooked, smoky and tender and not too chewy. The sauce has the consistency of mayonnaise instead of a more rigid aioli and could do with a little more garlic for my taste. Overall, I find the dish and serving size quite adequate for my hunger.

The other dish to arrive is penne boscaiola, a good serving of bacon, garlic, mushrooms, shallots and white wine cream sauce. The flavours are well balanced, much what you would expect from a good boscaiola sauce.

We share a Tiramisu for dessert. It comes served in a ramekin with chocolate pieces on top, a slight departure from the usual cake slice presentation. The tiramisu is accompanied by vanilla ice cream and bears Mike’s signature in a raspberry and chocolate coulis.